Jamila Michener, an expert in American politics and a professor of government at College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University, says Moveon.org’s billboard campaign is helping to ensure Medicaid expansion remains a salient feature of the political landscape.
Michener says:
“Moveon.org recently launched a major billboard campaign targeting states that have refused to extend Medicaid to their most needy populations. This high profile support should ensure that Medicaid expansion remains a salient feature of the political landscape, especially as the election season creeps ever closer. But two things are worth noting.
“First, Moveon.org’s most recent efforts are part of a broader collection of grassroots protests calling for Medicaid expansion. Since 2012, there have been over a hundred rallies in at least 27 states, involving more than 30 major organizations and attended by anywhere from 25 to 8,000 people.
“Second, current and potential Medicaid beneficiaries have been the most silent voices amid the brouhaha over the expansion. Ironically, these are precisely the people who can make a case for the enormity of the issue.
“As organizations like Moveon.org work to galvanize public support, they should remember to call on the many, many groups that have already been fighting this battle, and they should seek to highlight the perspectives of the people with the most at stake.”
Michener’s biography: http://www.jamilamichener.net
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